With its "modern", square-looking and sharp-edged headstock contrasting with a rounded tailstock the 175 mm (centre height) by 1000 mm (optionally 1500 mm) between-centres Essbeco BBC 175 was listed throughout the 1950s as a toolroom specification lathe. Compared to other models of a similar size in the company's range this lathe had a much more squat and powerful appearance and, whilst it may not have had the physical presence of an ultra-high quality (and very much more expensive Monarch or Holbrook) toolroom machine, it nevertheless went, by dint of careful design and a reasonable specification, a long way towards meeting its maker's aspirations. Although having a centre height one inch less than the BBC190, the bed (available only as a straight, without the option of a gap) was very much more strongly built with a deeper section, squared off ends and an inch added to the width; the result was a machine that weighed, in standard 1000 mm-between-centres form, around 1050 Kg, some 50% more than a similar-sized BBC190.
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175 mm x 1000/1500 mm Essbeco Model BBC175 Toolroom lathe.

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The oil-splash lubricated, all-geared headstock contained a roller-bearing mounted spindle with an American style L0 long-taper nose; it was driven by twin V belts through its eight speeds geometrically-arranged speeds of 34 to 1000 rpm by a 3 hp motor held within the fully-enclosed headstock-end cabinet leg. The spindle stop, start and reverse was controlled from a convenient, apron-mounted lever with a robust and safe positive-control gate,
Of the quick-change Norton-type, the screwcutting gearbox was able to generate, without changing any of the drive gears, 29 English pitches, from 6 to 96 tpi, 20 metric pitches from 0.5 to 6 mm and 29 different sliding and surfacing feeds from 0.1 to 1.68 mm per revolution of the spindle. The 1.125" diameter leadscrew was held in tension and fitted with a sliding gear at the headstock end that could be used to isolate it from the permanently-engaged power shaft drive.
Fitted with extra-long wings arranged to slide right past the headstock - so allowing the fitting of a centrally located cross slide - the saddle was topped by a swivelling top slide either of the "precision" lathe type, where an extra long but exposed slide allowed for sensitive turning work to be done with the carriage locked to the bed, or an ordinary covered slide with a much reduced travel. Both top and cross slides were fitted with "balanced" handles that, whilst delightful to operate on smaller precision lathes, can be painful when asked to work a big lathe hard. The toolpost supplied as standard was a simple, single-holder type; 4-way indexing toolholder and quick-set toolholders were both available as extra-cost items as was that essential item, a thread-dial indicator. For a large lathe the carriage handwheel was unusually small and, although the gearing to the rack was low, this might have caused difficulties both when trying to use manual feeds on heavier jobs.
Although robustly constructed the apron was not truly double-sided with the gear-shaft pins being held in a bolt-on support and with no provision for continuous lubrication.
Locked to the bed with a permanently fixed lever working through a cam, the tailstock held a1.75-inch (45 mm) diameter, No. 3 Morse taper spindle scribed with ruler lines and clamped by a proper compression mechanism that limited any deflection as it operated. The diameter of the handwheel on the end of the (self-eject) feed screw was not large enough for the capacity of the lathe.
Supplied with each new lathe were the following accessories: faceplate, driving plate, fixed and travelling steadies, 2 centres, extra (unspecified) thread-cutting gears, the necessary spanners and the electric motor and its associated switchgear and wiring..

Although robustly constructed the apron was not truly double-sided with the gear-shaft pins being held in a bolt-on support and with no provision for continuous lubrication.